The Lepidopterists' News THE MONTHLY PERIODIC A L OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY c/o Osborn Zoological Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven 11, Connecticut, U. S. A. Editor - C. L. REMINGTON • Assoc. Editor· J. E. REMINGTON Volume III February 1949 Number 2 OFFICIAL REGULATIONS FOR SHIPPING LIVE INSECTS "THE NEARCTIC BUTTERFLIES" Since the first issue of the Lepidopterists' Current Developments. News we have made efforts through the ~. to pro­ mote studies of immature stages of Lepidoptera, in­ Hereafter the Society's proposed series of stud­ cluding rearing, exchanging, and even buying and ies of the "Butterflies North of Mexico" will be re­ selling eggs, larvae, and pupae. Consequently we ferred to as THE NEARCTIC BUTTERFLIES. This is a feel it is our duty to inform the News readers in better definition of the scope of the project since North America on the governmental regulations which the political boundary between the U.S.A. and Mexico concern shipment of living insects, both to protect is not biological, parting faunae that are basically lepidopterists and to facilitate their compliance the same - southwestern U.S.A. and northern Mexico. with the legal requirements. We are grateful to Mr. C.F.W. Muesebeck, of the U.S.Department of Agricul­ Progress is being made in getting the coopera­ ture, to Dr.T.N. Freeman of the Canadian Department tion of Society members. (See page 20.) In Febru­ of Agriculture, and to Mr. Fred T. Thorne, of Cali­ ary some seventy-odd collaborators received the data fornia, for aiding in assembling this information. sheets for information about species in the genus Danaus in their collections. This information will For shipments to Canada, the statement is as be used by Dr. Fox in his study. If there are other follows: "The regulations under Destructive Insect members who wish to contribute information, they and Pest Act require a permit to import living in­ should get in touch with the undersigned. sects into Canada. Applications for permits should be addressed to the Secretary, Destructive Insect The present editorial staff is almost complete. and Pest Act Advisory Board, Department of Agricul­ Changes will be made as they become necessary ture, ottawa, Ontario, Canada." through the years of publication. For the U.S.A., the following official state­ Editor-in-Chief - F. Martin Brown ment has been provided us: "The shipnent of living insects is governed by the Insect Pest Act of 1905, Section Editors ••• Persons contemplating the importation or inter­ state shipment of living insects should, therefore, Danaidae - Richard M. Fox make application to the Division of Foreign Plant Satyridae - Ralph L. Chermock Q.1arantine, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washlng­ Nymphalidae - (not yet confirmed) ton, D.C. , for permits authorizing the movement ~caenidae,etc. - William D. Field of the material. The Act refers specifically to in­ Papilionidae - F. Martin Brown (temporary) sects notoriously injurious to cultivated crops in Pieridae - Alexander B. Klots cluding vegetables, field crops, bush fruits, orch­ Hesperioidea - (open) ard trees, forest trees, or shade trees. Although it does not refer to beneficial and non-economic Consultants forms, postal officials, transportation employees, and others concerned can not be expected to differ­ Biogeography - F. Martin Brown entiate between those insects which are harmless or Botany - William T. Penland beneficial and those which are of economic import­ Immature Forms - Charles L. Remington ance. These agencies are cooperating in the en­ forcement of the Act, and it has been found that The work will be published in the form of gener­ movement of even those forms which are not consid­ ic monographs. Each genus or group of small closely ered as restricted by the Act is facilitated when related genera will form a single publication. Each the shipment is accompanied by a permit." will be complete in itself yet each will constitute a definite part of a collected work on the Nearctic Many States have regulations, but California is Butterflies. The format will measure 4 5/8 by 7 in­ most concerned with restriction of shipments. The ches, printed on a 6 3/4 by 10 inch page. law reads as follows: "It is unlawful to import in­ to or ship or transport wi thin the State, any live A style manual has been prepared and will soon insect, except honey bees ••• unless such shipment be issued to the various editors and authors. Other or transportation is authorized prior to shipment members of the Society may get copies from the pro­ under written permit ••• of the California director ject Editor-in-Chief or the Society office at cost. or the United States Department of Agriculture." F.M. Brown ~ l4 Vol. III, no.2 WHAT IS SYSTEMATICS? Taken in this broad meaning, Systematics forms, in its turn, part of a complex of several very near­ by Sergius G. Kiriakoff ly related sciences, viz. Zoogeography, Faunistics, Ghent State University, Ghent, Belgium and Ecology. Systematics is deeply indebted to these various sciences without the help of which it The readers of the ~. ~ have no doubt much hardly could claim any progress. On the other hand, appreciated the substantial articles by Dr. Reming­ Systematics forms as it were the backbone of zooge­ ton on Taxonomy. The object of this note is to ographical, faunistical and ecolOgical work, which give a short account of a more general aspect of could not have any practical value if not aided by the question of the scope of Systematics. There ~ Systematics. ists a tendency, more distinct on the American side of the ocean, to consider Systematics as a synonym of Taxonomy (see Remington, 1!£. ~, vol.2: p.26) PROCEDURE IN TAXONOMY - VI. TYPES OF GENERA which actually corresponds to the most restricted meaning of the first term. Some authors, mostlyEu­ In order to achieve a uniform system of applying ropean, think that these terms are not synonymous generic names during revisions of classification, and that in fact the first of them has a much bro~ the concept of the type of a genus was devised. The er meaning than the second which it includes. There type of a genus is one species and the generic name are a few scattered indications of this pOint of must always be applied to the genus of the type spe­ view in the literature, but only one complete dis­ cies. For ex~~ple, Libythea was long considered to cussion of the subject exists, that by the Soviet include several species such as celtis, bachmanii, dipterist Paramonov ("GegenWirtige Systematik, ihre motya, etc.; recently the Old World species were Methoden und Aufgaben", Trav. Mus. Zool. Aca. Sci. found to be generically different from the New World Ukraine,vol.4: pp.3-25. 1934).-r-hav;-Qnly:recently species; since celtis is the type species, the name read Paramonov's paper and was struck by the great Libythea had to be used for ~ and the other Old similarity, not to say identity, of his views with World speCies, and a new generic name vas proposed my own. Here follows a summary of Paramonov's pro­ for the New World Snout Butterflies. posed definitions, slightly amended so as to bring them in complete concordance with my own views. The name for the type species ot a genus has re­ grettably been "genotype" for many years. This is SYSTEMATICS is a biological science with usual­ not a valid term etymologically, since the combining ly two aspects, viz. the theoretical side and the form derived from "genus" must be "gener-". Thus, practical side. With regard to zoological Systema­ THE CORRECT TERM IS "GENEROTYPE". The only possibly tics, in which we are primarily interested, these valid use of "genotype" for a generic type would be two aspects are: a) Zoonomy and b) Zoography. its devious derivation from the Greek equivalent of genus, "genos". In spite of the long usage of "geno­ ZOONOMY or theoretical Systematics is the study type" in taxonomy, the correction ot the old error of the biological laws under which the present ani­ has become imperative because the same term is used mal kingdom has developed and taken on the aspects universally in genetics for an entirely different which it now has. Most of the biological rules we meaning. Geneticists formed the word by deriving it are acquainted with (irreversibility law of 00110, correctly from "gene", the coined word for the unit law of the homologous series of Vavilov, climatic in living cells which controls heredity. Genetics rules of Gloger, Allen and Bergmann, etc.) must be is a science on an equal footing with taxonomy; the considered to belong here. Phylogeny (which also term "genotype" is far more important in genetics has its own practical aspect) cannot be better than in taxonomy; in genetics it is correctly formed; placed than as a branch of Zoonomy. Even Mendel's and genetics and taxonomy are becoming more and more law and thus certain aspects of Genetics are so in­ interrelated and thus the term would tend to become timately connected with Zoonomy that one is entitl­ used increasingly for two meanings in the same papers ed to ask himself whether Genetics cannot be includ­ - four compelling reasons why taxonomy mu5t abandon ed in the great science of Systematics; this, howev­ this term for the type of a genus. In fact, numerous er, is open to too much controversy, so that tempo­ modern taxonomists have already adopted "generotype". rarily we may as well leave it out of consideration. This has long been the editorial pollcy of the !!!!!. ZOOGRAPHY or practical Systematics comprises Modern taxonomists who name new genera clearly the following sections: designate the generotypes. However, it has been necessary to select types for most of the old genera 1.